Notification system, notification method, and non-transitory computer readable medium storing program

ABSTRACT

A notification system includes: detection means (110) for detecting an acoustic event from voice data transmitted from a communication terminal held by a target person; and notification means (120) for sending a predetermined notification when the detection means (110) has detected the acoustic event. Accordingly, it is possible to determine the state of a target person regardless of the state of this person. Further, when the difference between an acoustic pattern of the voice data transmitted from the communication terminal and acoustic patterns registered in advance is outside a predetermined range, a management server (101) does not send a notification, whereby it is possible to prevent communication traffic from being increased based on unnecessary notifications.

This application is a National Stage Entry of PCT/JP2018/030510 filed onAug. 17, 2018, which claims priority from Japanese Patent Application2017-203406 filed on Oct. 20, 2017, the contents of all of which areincorporated herein by reference, in their entirety.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present disclosure relates to a notification system, a notificationmethod, and a program.

BACKGROUND ART

In recent years, due to the aging of society, the number of elderlypeople living alone has been increasing. Various services that watchover these people living alone have been proposed. For example, anapparatus that compares a voice of a target person who is a target to bewatched over in response to an inquiry to this target person with avoice of the target person in a healthy state and estimates the healthcondition based on the results of the comparison has been proposed (see,for example, Patent Literature 1).

CITATION LIST Patent Literature

[Patent Literature 1] Japanese Unexamined Patent Application PublicationNo. 2006-230446

SUMMARY OF INVENTION Technical Problem

The aforementioned technique is based on the assumption that the targetperson can make a conversation. However, when, for example, thecondition of the target person is so bad that this person cannot make aconversation, it is difficult to estimate his/her health condition. Thusthere is a problem that it is difficult to constantly determine thecondition of the target person.

An object of the present disclosure is to provide a notification system,a notification method, and a program capable of solving theaforementioned problem.

Solution to Problem

A notification system according to the present disclosure includes:

detection means for detecting an acoustic event from voice datatransmitted from a communication terminal held by a target person; and

notification means for sending a predetermined notification when thedetection means has detected the acoustic event.

The notification system further includes:

determination means for determining whether the content of an operationperformed on a communication terminal held by a target person satisfiespredetermined conditions; and

notification means for sending a predetermined notification when thedetermination means determines that the content of the operation doesnot satisfy the predetermined conditions.

Further, a notification method according to the present disclosureperforms the following processing:

detecting an acoustic event from voice data transmitted from acommunication terminal held by a target person; and

sending a predetermined notification when the acoustic event has beendetected.

Further, a notification method performs the following processing:

determining whether the content of an operation performed on acommunication terminal held by a target person satisfies predeterminedconditions; and

sending a predetermined notification when it is determined that thecontent of the operation does not satisfy the predetermined conditions.

Further, a program according to the present disclosure is a program forcausing a computer to execute the following procedures:

detecting an acoustic event from voice data transmitted from acommunication terminal held by a target person; and

sending a predetermined notification when the acoustic event has beendetected.

Further, a program causes a computer to execute the followingprocedures:

determining whether the content of an operation performed on acommunication terminal held by a target person satisfies predeterminedconditions; and

sending a predetermined notification when it is determined that thecontent of the operation does not satisfy the predetermined conditions.

Advantageous Effects of Invention

As described above, according to the present disclosure, it is possibleto determine the state of the target person regardless of his/her state.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a first example embodiment of a notificationsystem according to the present disclosure;

FIG. 2 is a flowchart for explaining one example of a notificationmethod in the notification system shown in FIG. 1 ;

FIG. 3 is a diagram showing a second example embodiment of thenotification system according to the present disclosure;

FIG. 4 is a diagram showing one example of an internal configuration ofa management server shown in FIG. 3 ;

FIG. 5 is a diagram showing one example of acoustic patterns stored in adatabase shown in FIG. 4 ;

FIG. 6 is a diagram showing one example of correspondence of a telephonenumber and an e-mail address of a communication terminal stored in thedatabase shown in FIG. 4 ;

FIG. 7 is a sequence diagram illustrating one example of thenotification method in the notification system shown in FIG. 3 ;

FIG. 8 is a diagram showing one example of display modes in which thecommunication terminal shown in FIG. 3 displays a notification;

FIG. 9 is a sequence diagram illustrating another example of thenotification method in the notification system shown in FIG. 3 ;

FIG. 10 is a diagram showing one example of display modes in which thecommunication terminal shown in FIG. 3 displays a notification;

FIG. 11 is a diagram showing a third example embodiment of thenotification system according to the present disclosure;

FIG. 12 is a flowchart for explaining one example of a notificationmethod in the notification system shown in FIG. 11 ;

FIG. 13 is a diagram showing a fourth example embodiment of thenotification system according to the present disclosure;

FIG. 14 is a diagram showing one example of an internal configuration ofa management server shown in FIG. 13 ;

FIG. 15 is a diagram showing one example of conditions stored in thedatabase shown in FIG. 14 ;

FIG. 16 is a diagram showing another example of the conditions stored inthe database shown in FIG. 14 ;

FIG. 17 is a sequence diagram illustrating one example of thenotification method in the notification system shown in FIG. 13 ;

FIG. 18 is a diagram showing one example of display modes in which thecommunication terminal shown in FIG. 13 displays a notification;

FIG. 19 is a sequence diagram illustrating another example of thenotification method in the notification system shown in FIG. 13 ; and

FIG. 20 is a diagram showing one example of display modes in which thecommunication terminal shown in FIG. 13 displays a notification.

DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENTS

Hereinafter, with reference to the drawings, example embodiments of thepresent disclosure will be explained.

First Example Embodiment

FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a first example embodiment of a notificationsystem according to the present disclosure. As shown in FIG. 1 , anotification system 100 according to this example embodiment includesdetection means 110 and notification means 120.

The detection means 110 detects an acoustic event from the voice datatransmitted from a communication terminal 200 held by a target person.

The notification means 120 sends a predetermined notification when thedetection means 110 has detected the acoustic event.

In the following descriptions, a notification method in the notificationsystem 100 shown in FIG. 1 will be explained. FIG. 2 is a flowchart forexplaining one example of the notification method in the notificationsystem 100 shown in FIG. 1 .

First, the detection means 110 detects an acoustic event from the voicedata transmitted from the communication terminal 200 held by the targetperson (Step S1). When the detection means 110 has detected the acousticevent, the notification means 120 sends a predetermined notification(Step S2).

As described above, in the notification system 100 according to thisexample embodiment, when the detection means 110 has detected anacoustic event, the notification means 120 sends a predeterminednotification. It is therefore possible to obtain accurate informationregarding the state of the target person who holds the communicationterminal 200.

Second Example Embodiment

FIG. 3 is a diagram showing a second example embodiment of anotification system according to the present disclosure. Thenotification system according to this example embodiment is implementedby an apparatus of a management server 101. As shown in FIG. 3 , thenotification system according to this example embodiment includes amanagement server 101, which is the notification system, andcommunication terminals 201-1 and 201-2. The management server 101 andthe communication terminals 201-1 and 201-2 are connected to each othervia a communication network 301.

The communication terminal 201-1 is a communication apparatus such as amobile terminal held by the target person. The communication terminal201-2 is a communication apparatus such as a mobile terminal held by oneof family members or relatives of the target person. The telephonenumbers and the e-mail addresses of the communication terminals 201-1and 201-2 are registered in the management server 101 in such a way thatthey are associated with each other.

FIG. 4 is a diagram showing one example of the internal configuration ofthe management server 101 shown in FIG. 3 . As shown in FIG. 4 , themanagement server 101 shown in FIG. 3 includes detection means 111,notification means 121, calling means 131, update means 141, and adatabase 151. FIG. 4 shows one example of main components that relate tothis example embodiment among the components that the management server101 shown in FIG. 3 includes.

The calling means 131 makes a call to the communication terminal 201-1held by the target person. When the communication terminal 201-1responds after the calling means 131 makes a call to the communicationterminal 201-1, the calling means 131 transmits, to the communicationterminal 201-1, a message or guidance for encouraging the target personto speak. This message or the guidance may be the one registered in thedatabase 151 in advance. This message or the guidance may be, forexample, greetings such as “Good morning” or questions such as a quizthat encourage the target person to speak or perform an operation. Whenthe message or the guidance is a question, this question preferablymatches the preference of the target person and may be stored in thedatabase 151 in association with the target person in advance. Further,the calling means 131 may analyze, based on the content that the targetperson has made an utterance or the content stored in the database 151,the preference of the target person using artificial intelligencetechniques, and ask a question that matches the analyzed preference inresponse to the utterance made by the target person. By using thequestion that is associated with the target person, it is possible toencourage the target person to answer the question without getting boredwith the conversation.

The database 151 stores the acoustic patterns in advance. These acousticpatterns are stored as acoustic events having the strength of a sound,the length of the sound, a temporal interval between the sound andanother sound, the accent, the pattern of the intonation of the soundand the like of human coughing, throat clearing, sneezing, moaning,snoring, hiccups, or a loud noise. Further, the database 151 stores thetelephone number and the e-mail address of the communication terminal201-1 in association with the telephone number and the e-mail address ofthe communication terminal 201-2 in advance. The association that thedatabase 151 stores is not limited to the telephone number and thee-mail address, and may be any kind of information that can be specifiedas the destination of communication. This information may be, forexample, ID (identification information: IDentification) in a SocialNetworking Service (SNS) tool or a telephone call application such asLINE (registered trademark).

FIG. 5 is a diagram showing one example of the acoustic patterns storedin the database 151 shown in FIG. 4 . As shown in FIG. 5 , a pluralityof acoustic patterns are stored in the database 151 shown in FIG. 4 inadvance.

FIG. 6 is a diagram showing one example of the association of thetelephone number and the e-mail address of the communication terminalstored in the database 151 shown in FIG. 4 . As shown in FIG. 6 , thedatabase 151 shown in FIG. 4 stores the telephone number and the e-mailaddress of the communication terminal of the target person inassociation with the telephone number and the e-mail address of thecommunication terminal of the destination of the notification. While thetarget person and the destination of the notification are associatedwith each other in one-to-one correspondence in the example shown inFIG. 6 , they may be associated with each other in one-to-manycorrespondence.

The detection means 111 compares the acoustic pattern of the voice datatransmitted from the communication terminal 201-1 with the acousticpatterns stored in the database 151. In particular, the detection means111 compares the acoustic pattern of the voice data transmitted from thecommunication terminal 201-1 to which the calling means 131 has made acall with the acoustic patterns stored in the database 151. Thedetection means 111 detects an acoustic event based on the results ofthe comparison. When the difference between the patterns is within apredetermined range as a result of the comparison, the detection means111 determines that an acoustic event has been detected. The detectionmeans 111 compares, for example, the strength of the sound, the lengthof the sound, a temporal interval between the sound and another sound,the accent, the pattern of the intonation of the sound and the like ofthe voice data transmitted from the communication terminal 201-1 withthe strength of a sound, the length of the sound, a temporal intervalbetween the sound and another sound, the accent, the pattern of theintonation of the sound and the like stored in the database 151, anddetermines whether the difference between the patterns is within apredetermined range. This predetermined range may be set in advance andregistered in the database 151. The detection means 111 performscomparison of, for example, the strength of a sound, the length of thesound, a temporal interval between the sound and another sound, theaccent, the pattern of the intonation of the sound and the like. Whenthe difference between the patterns and the strength of a sound, thelength of the sound, a temporal interval between the sound and anothersound, the accent, the pattern of the intonation of the sound and thelike indicating the sound of throat clearing stored in the database 151is within a predetermined range, it is determined that an acoustic eventof “throat clearing” has been detected. By performing this comparison,it is possible to recognize that the condition (physical condition) ofthe target person who holds the communication terminal 201-1 isdifferent from the normal condition (physical condition) or thatsomething abnormal has happened to the target person.

When it is determined that the detection means 111 has detected anacoustic event as a result of the comparison in the detection means 111,the notification means 121 sends a predetermined notification. Thenotification means 121 sends this notification to the communicationterminal 201-1. Alternatively, the notification means 121 sends thisnotification to the communication terminal 201-2. Alternatively, thenotification means 121 sends this notification to both the communicationterminal 201-1 and the communication terminal 201-2. The notificationmeans 121 may send the notification using e-mail, send the notificationusing Short Message Service (SMS), send the notification using a voicecall, or send the notification using other transmission media. Thenotification means 121 may send the notification when the results of thecomparison in the detection means 111 show that the acoustic event isdetected continuously for a predetermined period, like for several days.Further, this notification includes the content indicating that thecondition (physical condition) of the target person seems to bedifferent from the normal condition or the content suggesting actions tobe taken.

The update means 141 updates the acoustic patterns stored in thedatabase 151 based on the voice data transmitted from the communicationterminal 201-1. That is, the update means 141 leans the voice datatransmitted from the communication terminal 201-1 and reflects theresults of the learning in the database 151.

In the following description, the notification method in thenotification system shown in FIG. 3 will be explained. FIG. 7 is asequence diagram illustrating one example of the notification method inthe notification system shown in FIG. 3 . In this example, an example inwhich the notification means 121 shown in FIG. 4 sends a notification tothe communication terminal 201-2 will be explained.

First, the calling means 131 makes a call to the communication terminal201-1 held by the target person (Step S11). When the communicationterminal 201-1 responds (off the hook), the calling means 131 transmitsa message (or a guidance) to the communication terminal 201-1 (StepS12).

After that, when the person who holds the communication terminal 201-1makes a speech, the communication terminal 201-1 transmits the utteredvoice data to the management server 101 (Step S13).

After the voice data is transmitted from the communication terminal201-1, the detection means 111 compares the acoustic pattern of thevoice data transmitted from the communication terminal 201-1 with theacoustic patterns stored in the database 151 (Step S14). Specifically,the detection means 111 compares the strength of a sound, the length ofthe sound, a temporal interval between the sound and another sound, theaccent, the pattern of the intonation of the sound and the like of thevoice data transmitted from the communication terminal 201-1 with thestrength of a sound, the length of the sound, a temporal intervalbetween the sound and another sound, the accent, the pattern of theintonation of the sound and the like stored in the database 151. Thedetection means 111 determines, from the results of the comparison,whether the difference between the patterns is within a predeterminedrange (Step S15). When the results of the comparison show that thedifference between the patterns is within the predetermined range, thedetection means 111 determines that the acoustic event has beendetected.

When it is determined from the results of the comparison in thedetection means 111 that the detection means 111 has detected anacoustic event, the notification means 121 sends a predeterminednotification to the communication terminal 201-2 (Step S16). When thenotification means 121 sends the notification using e-mail, thenotification means 121 reads out the e-mail address of the communicationterminal 201-2 associated with the communication terminal 201-1 from thedatabase 151 and sends a notification to the e-mail address that hasbeen read out. When the notification means 121 sends a notificationusing SMS, the notification means 121 reads out the telephone number ofthe communication terminal 201-2 associated with the communicationterminal 201-1 from the database 151 and sends a notification to thetelephone number that has been read out.

The communication terminal 201-2 that has received the notification fromthe management server 101 displays the received notification (Step S17).When the notification transmitted from the management server 101 is theone that uses an e-mail, the communication terminal 201-2 displays thenotification in the normal method of displaying the notification uponreceiving the e-mail. The same holds true for a case in which thisnotification is sent using SMS.

FIG. 8 is a diagram showing one example of display modes in which thecommunication terminal 201-2 shown in FIG. 3 displays the notification.The example shown in FIG. 8 shows a display mode in the communicationterminal 201-2 when the notification means 121 sends a notificationusing e-mail. Upon receiving the notification using e-mail from themanagement server 101, the communication terminal 201-2 shown in FIG. 3displays the notification using an e-mail application. In the exampleshown in FIG. 8 , the communication terminal 201-2 displays thenotification “Your family member seems to be sick with coughing thesedays. Why don't you call him/her at your convenience?” using e-mail.

FIG. 9 is a sequence diagram illustrating another example of thenotification method in the notification system shown in FIG. 3 . In thisexample, a case in which the notification means 121 shown in FIG. 4sends a notification to the communication terminal 201-1 will beexplained as an example.

First, the calling means 131 makes a call to the communication terminal201-1 held by the target person (Step S21). After the communicationterminal 201-1 responds (off the hook), the calling means 131 transmitsa message (or a guidance) to the communication terminal 201-1 (StepS22).

After that, when the person who holds the communication terminal 201-1makes a speech, the communication terminal 201-1 transmits the utteredvoice data to the management server 101 (Step S23).

After the voice data is transmitted from the communication terminal201-1, the detection means 111 compares the acoustic pattern of thevoice data transmitted from the communication terminal 201-1 with theacoustic patterns stored in the database 151 (Step S24). Specifically,the detection means 111 compares the strength of a sound, the length ofthe sound, a temporal interval between the sound and another sound, theaccent, the pattern of the intonation of the sound and the like of thevoice data transmitted from the communication terminal 201-1 with thestrength of a sound, the length of the sound, a temporal intervalbetween the sound and another sound, the accent, the pattern of theintonation of the sound and the like stored in the database 151. Thedetection means 111 determines, from the results of the comparison,whether the difference between the patterns is within a predeterminedrange (Step S25). When the difference between the patterns is within apredetermined range as a result of the comparison, the detection means111 determines that the acoustic event has been detected.

When it is determined that the detection means 111 has detected theacoustic event from the results of the comparison in the detection means111, the notification means 121 sends a predetermined notification tothe communication terminal 201-1 (Step S26). When the notification means121 sends a notification using e-mail, the notification means 121 readsout the e-mail address of the communication terminal 201-1 from thedatabase 151 and sends a notification to the e-mail address that hasbeen read out. When the notification means 121 sends the notificationusing SMS, the notification means 121 sends the notification to thetelephone number of the communication terminal 201-1 used when thecalling has been made.

The communication terminal 201-1 that has received the notification fromthe management server 101 displays the received notification (Step S27).When the notification transmitted from the management server 101 is theone that uses an e-mail, the communication terminal 201-1 displays thenotification in the normal method of displaying the notification uponreceiving the e-mail. The same holds true for a case in which thisnotification is sent using SMS.

FIG. 10 is a diagram showing one example of display modes in which thecommunication terminal 201-1 shown in FIG. 3 displays the notification.The example shown in FIG. 10 shows a display mode in the communicationterminal 201-1 when the notification means 121 sends a notificationusing e-mail. Upon receiving the notification using e-mail from themanagement server 101, the communication terminal 201-1 shown in FIG. 3displays this notification using an e-mail application. In the exampleshown in FIG. 10 , the communication terminal 201-1 displays thenotification “You seem to be sick with coughing these days. Why don'tyou see a doctor at your convenience?” using e-mail.

Even when the calling means 131 does not make a call and thecommunication terminal 201-1 makes a call instead, processing of StepsS23-S27 may be performed after that.

Modified Example 1

The management server 101 may store, for each of the target persons, thesounds of coughing, throat clearing, sneezing, moaning, snoring, hiccupsand the like of the target person in the database 151 as the targetperson acoustic patterns in advance. In this case, the detection means111 may read out, from the database 151, the target person acousticpattern of the target person who has transmitted the voice data andholds the communication terminal, and compare the acoustic pattern ofthe voice data transmitted from the communication terminal 201-1 withthe target person acoustic pattern of the target person who holds thecommunication terminal 201-1 read out from the database 151. Asdescribed above, by comparing the data of the target person with anotherpiece(s) of data of the same person, it is possible to performdetermination more accurately.

As described above, in this example embodiment, the management server101 transmits a message or a guidance to the communication terminal201-1. The management server 101 compares the acoustic pattern of thevoice data transmitted from the communication terminal 201-1 in responseto the message or the guidance transmitted from the management server101 with the acoustic patterns registered in advance. When thedifference between the patterns is within a predetermined range, anotification is sent to the communication terminal 201-1 or thecommunication terminal 201-2. Therefore, the target person who holds thecommunication terminal 201-1 or one of the family members who holds thecommunication terminal 201-2 is able to obtain accurate information ofthe condition (state) of the target person who holds the communicationterminal 201-1. Further, when the difference between the acousticpattern of the voice data transmitted from the communication terminal201-1 and the acoustic patterns registered in advance is outside thepredetermined range, the management server 101 does not send anotification. It is therefore possible to prevent an increase in thecommunication traffic, which is due to unnecessary notifications.

Third Example Embodiment

FIG. 11 is a diagram showing a third example embodiment of thenotification system according to the present disclosure. As shown inFIG. 11 , a notification system 102 according to this example embodimentincludes determination means 162 and notification means 122.

The determination means 162 determines whether the content of theoperation performed on a communication terminal 202 held by the targetperson satisfies predetermined conditions.

When the determination means 162 has determined that the content of theoperation does not satisfy the predetermined conditions, thenotification means 122 sends a predetermined notification.

In the following description, a notification method in the notificationsystem 102 shown in FIG. 11 will be explained. FIG. 12 is a flowchartfor explaining one example of the notification method in thenotification system 102 shown in FIG. 11 .

First, the determination means 162 determines whether the content of theoperation performed on the communication terminal 202 held by the targetperson satisfies predetermined conditions (Step S31). When thedetermination means 162 determines that the content of the operationdoes not satisfy the predetermined conditions, the notification means122 sends a predetermined notification (Step S32).

As described above, the notification system 102 according to thisexample embodiment sends a notification when the operation methodperformed on the communication terminal 202 by the target person isoutside the predetermined range. Therefore, it is possible to obtainaccurate information regarding the state of the target person who holdsthe communication terminal 202.

Fourth Example Embodiment

FIG. 13 is a diagram showing a fourth example embodiment of thenotification system according to the present disclosure. Thenotification system according to this example embodiment is implementedby an apparatus of a management server 103. As shown in FIG. 13 , thisexample embodiment includes a management server 103, which is thenotification system, and communication terminals 203-1 and 203-2. Themanagement server 103 and the communication terminals 203-1 and 203-2are connected to each other via a communication network 303.

The communication terminal 203-1 is a communication apparatus such as amobile terminal held by the target person. The communication terminal203-2 is a communication apparatus such as a mobile terminal held by oneof family members or relatives of the target person. The telephonenumbers and the e-mail addresses of the communication terminals 203-1and 203-2 are registered in the management server 103 in associationwith each other in advance.

FIG. 14 is a diagram showing one example of an internal configuration ofthe management server 103 shown in FIG. 13 . As shown in FIG. 14 , themanagement server 103 shown in FIG. 13 includes calling means 133, adatabase 153, determination means 163, and notification means 123. FIG.14 shows one example of main components that relate to this exampleembodiment among the components included in the management server 103shown in FIG. 13 .

The calling means 133 makes a call to the communication terminal 203-1held by the target person. The calling means 133 further transmits atleast one of a message and a display screen for prompting thecommunication terminal 203-1 to be operated to the communicationterminal 203-1 held by the target person.

The database 153 stores predetermined conditions in advance. Thedatabase 153 stores the telephone number and the e-mail address of thecommunication terminal 203-1 and the conditions in association with eachother in advance. Further, the database 153 stores the telephone numberand the e-mail address of the communication terminal 203-1 and thetelephone number and the e-mail address of the communication terminal203-2, which is the destination of the notification, in association witheach other in advance.

FIG. 15 is a diagram showing one example of the conditions stored in thedatabase 153 shown in FIG. 14 . As shown in FIG. 15 , the database 153shown in FIG. 14 stores the telephone number of the target person, thee-mail address, and the operation item and the operation range, whichare the conditions, in association with one another. The conditions arethe content of the operation in which the target person operates thecommunication terminal 203-1. The conditions may be, as shown in FIG. 15, time from the timing when the call is made to the timing when the callis answered or time from the timing when the call is answered to thetiming when the call is disconnected. Further, the conditions may betime regarding voice communication such as time from the timing when aquestion is made to the communication terminal 203-1 to the timing whenthe reply to this question is sent from the communication terminal203-1. The operation range is a range calculated based on the operationperformed by the target person in the normal state for each of thecontents of the operation, and is a criterion for causing thedetermination means 163 to determine whether the notification means 123sends a notification. Further, only the conditions shown in FIG. 15 maybe stored in the database 153.

FIG. 16 is a diagram showing another example of the conditions stored inthe database 153 shown in FIG. 14 . As shown in FIG. 16 , the database153 shown in FIG. 14 stores the display state and the content of theoperation in association with each other as the conditions. Theconditions are the content of the operation in which the target personoperates the communication terminal 203-1. This content is, for example,the content of the operation that can be assumed to be performed on thedisplay on the communication terminal 203-1. As shown in FIG. 16 , forexample, when the communication terminal 203-1 displays buttons of A-D,the condition of the content of the operation is that one of the buttonsA-D is touched. That is, when the communication terminal 203-1 displaysthe buttons of A-D, it is determined that the condition is not satisfiedwhen, for example, an area other than the area where these buttons aredisplayed is touched. Further, when the communication terminal 203-1displays a character input screen, the condition of the content of theoperation is to perform a touching operation for inputting charactersthat can be converted into other characters. That is, when thecommunication terminal 203-1 displays the character input screen, it isdetermined that the condition is not satisfied when, for example, atouching operation other than the touching operation for inputtingcharacters that can be converted into other characters (e.g., a touchingoperation for inputting characters that cannot be converted into othercharacters) is performed.

In addition to the above, the conditions stored in the database 153 maybe, for example, whether or not a certain specific button (a softwarebutton or a hardware button) continues to be pressed, whether a buttonthat can be expected to be pressed in response to a display or voice isbeing pressed (for example, whether the buttons are being pressed in thenormal order in accordance with the display, or whether the button inaccordance with the voice is being pressed).

The determination means 163 compares the content of the operationperformed on the communication terminal 203-1 by the target person withthe conditions stored in the database 153. In particular, thedetermination means 163 compares the content of the operation performedon the communication terminal 203-1 to which the calling means 133 hasmade a call with the conditions stored in the database 153. This contentof the operation may be the one indicated by operation informationindicating the content of the operation performed on the communicationterminal 203-1 by the target person transmitted from the communicationterminal 203-1. The determination means 163 determines whether thecontent of the operation performed on the communication terminal 203-1by the target person satisfies the conditions stored in the database153. By performing the determination using the aforementionedconditions, it is possible to detect that the content of the operationperformed on the communication terminal 203-1 will be outside of therange of the normal operation method since the condition (physicalcondition) of the target person who holds the communication terminal203-1 is different from the normal condition. As a result, it ispossible to recognize that the condition (physical condition) of thetarget person is not good.

When the determination means 163 determines that the content of theoperation performed on the communication terminal 203-1 by the targetperson does not satisfy the conditions stored in the database 153, thenotification means 123 sends a predetermined notification. Thenotification means 123 sends this notification to the communicationterminal 203-1. Alternatively, the notification means 123 sends thisnotification to the communication terminal 203-2. Alternatively, thenotification means 123 sends this notification to both the communicationterminal 203-1 and the communication terminal 203-2. The notificationmeans 123 may send the notification using e-mail, send the notificationusing SMS, or send the notification using a voice call. The notificationmeans 123 may send the notification when the determination means 163 hascontinuously determined that the content of the operation performed onthe communication terminal 203-1 by the target person does not satisfythe conditions stored in the database 153 for a predetermined period,like for several days. Further, this notification may contain thecontent indicating that the condition of the target person seems to bedifferent from the normal condition or the content for suggestingactions to be taken.

In the following description, the notification method in thenotification system shown in FIG. 13 will be explained. FIG. 17 is asequence diagram illustrating one example of the notification method inthe notification system shown in FIG. 13 . In this example, a case inwhich the notification means 123 shown in FIG. 14 sends the notificationto the communication terminal 203-2 will be described as an example.Further, a case in which the operation method (condition) compared bythe determination means 163 shown in FIG. 14 is time from the timingwhen the calling means 133 has made a call to the communication terminal203-1 to the timing when the communication terminal 203-1 responds (thetarget person of the communication terminal 203-1 answers the telephone)will be explained as an example.

First, the calling means 133 makes a call to the communication terminal203-1 held by the target person (Step S41). Then the determination means163 starts a timer (not shown) (Step S42). This timer stops when thecommunication terminal 203-1 responds. Further, as shown in FIG. 15 ,the determination means 163 determines that the timer has timed out whenthe value of the timer reaches the value of the operation item stored inthe database 153 in advance.

The determination means 163 determines whether the timer has timed outbefore the communication terminal 203-1 responds (Step S43). When thedetermination means 163 determines that the timer has timed out beforethe communication terminal 203-1 responds, the notification means 123sends a predetermined notification to the communication terminal 203-2(Step S44). When the notification means 123 sends a notification usinge-mail, the notification means 123 reads out the e-mail address of thecommunication terminal 203-2 associated with the communication terminal203-1 from the database 153 and sends a notification to the e-mailaddress that has been read out. When the notification means 123 sendsthe notification using SMS, the notification means 123 reads out thetelephone number of the communication terminal 203-2 associated with thecommunication terminal 203-1 from the database 153 and sends anotification to the telephone number that has been read out.

The communication terminal 203-2 that has received the notification fromthe management server 103 displays the received notification (Step S45).When the notification transmitted from the management server 103 is theone that uses an e-mail, the communication terminal 203-2 displays thenotification in the normal method of displaying the notification uponreceiving the e-mail. The same holds true for a case in which thisnotification is sent using SMS.

FIG. 18 is a diagram showing one example of display modes when thecommunication terminal 203-2 shown in FIG. 13 displays a notification.The example shown in FIG. 18 shows a display mode in the communicationterminal 203-2 when the notification means 123 sends a notificationusing e-mail. Upon receiving a notification using e-mail from themanagement server 103, the communication terminal 203-2 shown in FIG. 13displays this notification using an e-mail application. In the exampleshown in FIG. 18 , the communication terminal 203-2 displays anotification “Your family member seems to be sick these days. Why don'tyou visit him/her?” using e-mail.

FIG. 19 is a sequence diagram illustrating another example of thenotification method in the notification system shown in FIG. 13 . Inthis example, a case in which the notification means 123 shown in FIG.14 sends the notification to the communication terminal 203-1 will beexplained as an example. Further, a case in which the operation method(conditions) compared by the determination means 163 shown in FIG. 14 istime from the timing when the calling means 133 has made a call to thecommunication terminal 203-1 to the timing when the communicationterminal 203-1 responds (the target person who holds the communicationterminal 203-1 answers the telephone) will be explained as an example.

First, the calling means 133 makes a call to the communication terminal203-1 held by the target person (Step S51). Then the determination means163 starts a timer (not shown) (Step S52). This timer stops when thecommunication terminal 203-1 responds. Further, as shown in FIG. 15 ,the determination means 163 determines that the timer has timed out whenthe value of the timer reaches the value of the operation item stored inthe database 153 in advance.

The determination means 163 determines whether the timer has timed outbefore the communication terminal 203-1 responds (Step S53). When thedetermination means 163 determines that the timer has timed out beforethe communication terminal 203-1 responds, the notification means 123sends a predetermined notification to the communication terminal 205-1(Step S54). When the notification means 123 sends a notification usinge-mail, the notification means 123 reads out the e-mail address of thecommunication terminal 203-1 from the database 153 and sends anotification to the e-mail address that has been read out. When thenotification means 123 sends the notification using SMS, thenotification means 123 sends a notification to the telephone number ofthe communication terminal 203-1 used when the calling has been made.

The communication terminal 203-1 that has received the notification fromthe management server 103 displays the received notification (Step S55).When the notification transmitted from the management server 103 is theone that uses an e-mail, the communication terminal 203-1 displays thenotification in the normal method of displaying the notification uponreceiving the e-mail. The same holds true for a case in which thisnotification is sent using SMS.

FIG. 20 is a diagram showing one example of display modes in which thecommunication terminal 203-1 shown in FIG. 13 displays a notification.The example shown in FIG. 20 shows a display mode in the communicationterminal 203-1 when the notification means 123 sends the notificationusing e-mail. When the communication terminal 203-1 shown in FIG. 13receives a notification using e-mail from the management server 103, thecommunication terminal 203-1 displays this notification using an e-mailapplication. In the example shown in FIG. 20 , the communicationterminal 203-1 displays the notification “You don't seem to be very wellthese days. Why don't you have a medical checkup?” using e-mail.

As described above, according to this example embodiment, the managementserver 103 compares the method of operating the communication terminal203-1 performed by the target person with the operation methodregistered in the database 153 in advance. When the operation methodperformed on the communication terminal 203-1 by the target person doesnot satisfy the operation method (conditions) registered in the database153 in advance, a notification is sent to the communication terminal203-1 or the communication terminal 203-2. Therefore, the target personwho holds the communication terminal 203-1, a family member who holdsthe communication terminal 203-2 or the like can obtain accurateinformation regarding the state of the target person who holds thecommunication terminal 203-1. Further, when the method of operating thecommunication terminal 203-1 performed by the target person satisfiesthe operation method (conditions) registered in the database 153 inadvance, the management server 103 does not send the notification. It istherefore possible to prevent an increase in the communication traffic,which is due to unnecessary notifications.

In the aforementioned descriptions, after the calling means 133 has madea call to the communication terminal 203-1 of the target person, thedetermination means 163 determines whether the operation methodperformed on the communication terminal 203-1 satisfies the conditionsstored in the database 153, and the notification means 123 sends thenotification based on the results of the determination. However, thepresent disclosure is not limited thereto. After the communicationterminal 203-1 held by the target person has sent the notification tothe communication terminal 203-2, the determination means 163 maydetermine whether the operation method performed on the communicationterminal 203-1 satisfies the conditions stored in the database 153, andthe notification means 123 may send the notification based on theresults of the determination.

While the above descriptions have been made assuming that the respectivecomponents play the respective functions (processing), this allocationis not limited to the one described above. Further, the aforementionedforms of the configurations of the components are merely examples, andthey are not limited thereto. Further, each of the example embodimentsmay be combined with each other.

The processing performed by each of the components provided in each ofthe notification systems 100 and 102 and the management servers 101 and103 described above may be performed by logic circuits each manufacturedin accordance with its purposes. Further, a computer program(hereinafter this computer program will be referred to as a program)that describes the content of the processing as a procedure may berecorded in a storage medium that can be read by each of thenotification systems 100 and 102 and the management servers 101 and 103,the program recorded in this storage medium may be read by each of thenotification systems 100 and 102 and the management servers 101 and 103,and each of the notification systems 100 and 102 and the managementservers 101 and 103 may execute the recorded program. The storage mediathat can be read by each of the notification systems 100 and 102 and themanagement servers 101 and 103 indicate, besides transportable storagemedia such as floppy (registered trademark) disks, optical magneticdiscs, DVDs (Digital Versatile Discs), CDs (Compact Discs), Blu-ray(registered trademark) Discs, USB (Universal Serial Bus) memories,memories such as ROM (Read Only Memory) or RAM (Random Access Memory)included in each of the notification systems 100 and 102 and themanagement servers 101 and 103, HDD (Hard Disc Drive) and the like. Theprogram recorded in this storage media is read by CPUs provided in thenotification systems 100 and 102 and the management servers 101 and 103,and processing similar to that described above is performed by controlperformed by the CPU. The CPU operates as a computer that executes theprogram read by the storage media that stores the program.

While the present application has been described above with reference tothe example embodiments, the present application is not limited to theaforementioned descriptions. Various changes that can be understood byone skilled in the art may be made to the configurations and the detailsof the present application within the scope of the invention.

A part or all of the aforementioned example embodiments may be describedas shown in the following Supplementary Notes. However, they are notlimited thereto.

(Supplementary Note 1)

A notification system comprising:

detection means for detecting an acoustic event from voice datatransmitted from a communication terminal held by a target person; and

notification means for sending a predetermined notification when thedetection means has detected the acoustic event.

(Supplementary Note 2)

The notification system according to Supplementary Note 1, comprising adatabase configured to store predetermined acoustic patterns in advance,

wherein the detection means compares an acoustic pattern of the voicedata transmitted from the communication terminal with the acousticpatterns stored in the database and detects the acoustic event based onthe results of the comparison.

(Supplementary Note 3)

The notification system according to Supplementary Note 2, comprisingupdate means for updating the acoustic patterns stored in the databasebased on the voice data transmitted from the communication terminal.

(Supplementary Note 4)

The notification system according to Supplementary Note 2 or 3, whereinthe detection means determines that the acoustic event has been detectedwhen the results of the comparison show that the difference between thepatterns is within a predetermined range.

(Supplementary Note 5)

The notification system according to any one of Supplementary Notes 1 to4, comprising calling means for making a call to the communicationterminal,

wherein the detection means detects an acoustic event from the voicedata transmitted from the communication terminal to which the callingmeans has made a call.

(Supplementary Note 6)

The notification system according to Supplementary Note 5, wherein thecalling means transmits a message for encouraging the target person tospeak to the communication terminal held by the target person.

(Supplementary Note 7)

A notification system comprising:

determination means for determining whether the content of an operationperformed on a communication terminal held by a target person satisfiespredetermined conditions; and

notification means for sending a predetermined notification when thedetermination means determines that the content of the operation doesnot satisfy the predetermined conditions.

(Supplementary Note 8)

The notification system according to Supplementary Note 7, wherein thedetermination means determines whether the content of the operationperformed on the communication terminal indicated by operationinformation transmitted from the communication terminal satisfies thepredetermined conditions.

(Supplementary Note 9)

The notification system according to Supplementary Note 7 or 8,comprising a database configured to store the predetermined conditionsin advance,

wherein the determination means compares the content of the operationperformed on the communication terminal with the conditions stored inthe database and determines whether the predetermined conditions aresatisfied.

(Supplementary Note 10)

The notification system according to any one of Supplementary Notes 7 to9, comprising calling means for making a call to the communicationterminal,

wherein the determination means determines whether the content of theoperation performed on the communication terminal to which the callingmeans has made a call satisfies the predetermined conditions.

(Supplementary Note 11)

The notification system according to Supplementary Note 10, wherein thecalling means transmits at least one of a message and a display screenfor prompting the communication terminal to be operated to thecommunication terminal held by the target person.

(Supplementary Note 12)

The notification system according to any one of Supplementary Notes 1 to11, wherein the notification means sends the notification to acommunication terminal that is associated with the communicationterminal held by the target person in advance.

(Supplementary Note 13)

The notification system according to any one of Supplementary Notes 1 to12, wherein the notification means sends the notification to thecommunication terminal held by the target person.

(Supplementary Note 14)

The notification system according to any one of Supplementary Notes 1 to13, wherein the notification means sends the notification using e-mail.

(Supplementary Note 15)

The notification system according to any one of Supplementary Notes 1 to13, wherein the notification means sends the notification using ShortMessage Service (SMS).

(Supplementary Note 16)

The notification system according to any one of Supplementary Notes 1 to13, wherein the notification means sends the notification using a voicecall.

(Supplementary Note 17)

A notification method performing the following processing:

detecting an acoustic event from voice data transmitted from acommunication terminal held by a target person; and

sending a predetermined notification when the acoustic event has beendetected.

(Supplementary Note 18)

A notification method performing the following processing:

determining whether the content of an operation performed on acommunication terminal held by a target person satisfies predeterminedconditions; and

sending a predetermined notification when it is determined that thecontent of the operation does not satisfy the predetermined conditions.

(Supplementary Note 19)

A program for causing the following procedures:

detecting an acoustic event from voice data transmitted from acommunication terminal held by a target person; and

sending a predetermined notification when the acoustic event has beendetected.

(Supplementary Note 20)

A program for causing a computer to execute the following procedures:

determining whether the content of an operation performed on acommunication terminal held by a target person satisfies predeterminedconditions; and

sending a predetermined notification when it is determined that thecontent of the operation does not satisfy the predetermined conditions.

This application is based upon and claims the benefit of priority fromJapanese Patent Application No. 2017-203406, filed on Oct. 20, 2017, thedisclosure of which is incorporated herein in its entirety by reference.

REFERENCE SIGNS LIST

-   100, 102 Notification system-   101, 103 Management Server-   110, 111 Detection Means-   120, 121, 122, 123 Notification Means-   131, 133 Calling Means-   141 Update Means-   151, 153 Database-   162, 163 Determination Means-   200, 201-1, 201-2, 202, 203-1, 203-2 Communication Terminal-   301, 303 Communication Network

The invention claimed is:
 1. A notification system comprising: at leastone memory storing instructions; and at least one processor configuredto execute instructions to: receive a first voice data from a firstcommunication terminal held by a target person after a guidance ispresented to the first communication terminal; a difference regarding aphysical condition of the target person based on the first voice dataand a basis, the basis being created from second voice data of thetarget person; and send a notification to a second communicationterminal depending on detecting the difference regarding the physicalcondition of the target person.
 2. The notification system according toclaim 1, wherein the at least one processor is further configured toexecute instructions to: store predetermined acoustic patterns of thesecond voice data in advance, the basis including the predeterminedacoustic patterns of the second voice data: compare an acoustic patternof the first voice data transmitted from the first communicationterminal with the predetermined acoustic patterns stored in thedatabase; and detect the difference regarding the physical condition ofthe target person based on the results of the comparison.
 3. Thenotification system according to claim 2, wherein the at least oneprocessor is further configured to execute instructions to: update thepredetermined acoustic patterns stored in the database based on thefirst voice data transmitted from the first communication terminal. 4.The notification system according to claim 2, wherein the at least oneprocessor is further configured to execute instructions to: determinethe difference regarding the physical condition of the target person,when the results of the comparison show that the difference between theacoustic pattern of the first voice data and the predetermined acousticpatterns is within a predetermined range.
 5. The notification systemaccording to claim 1, wherein the guidance indicates that encouragingthe target person to speak to the first communication terminal held bythe target person.
 6. The notification system according to claim 1,wherein the second communication terminal is associated with the firstcommunication terminal held by the target person in advance.
 7. Thenotification system according to claim 1, wherein the at least oneprocessor is further configured to execute instructions to: send thenotification to the first communication terminal held by the targetperson.
 8. The notification system according to claim 1, wherein thenotification is sent by e-mail.
 9. The notification system according toclaim 1, wherein the notification is sent by Short Message Service(SMS).
 10. The notification system according to claim 1, wherein thenotification is sent by a voice call.
 11. The notification systemaccording to claim 1, wherein the notification includes information of astate of the target person.
 12. The notification system according toclaim 1, wherein the second voice data is captured before the firstvoice data.
 13. The notification system according to claim 1, whereinthe second voice data is transmitted from the first communicationterminal held by the target person.
 14. The notification systemaccording to claim 1, wherein the at least one processor is furtherconfigured to execute instructions to: compare a pattern of the firstvoice data transmitted from the first communication terminal with thebasis; and detect the difference regarding the physical condition of thetarget person based on the results of the comparison.
 15. A notificationmethod performing processing comprising: receiving a first voice datafrom a first communication terminal held by a target person after aguidance is presented to the first communication terminal; detecting adifference regarding a physical condition of the target person based onfirst voice data and a basis, the basis being created from second voicedata of the target person; and sending a notification to a secondcommunication terminal depending on the detecting the differenceregarding the physical condition of the target person.
 16. Anon-transitory computer readable medium storing a program for causing acomputer to execute procedures comprising: receiving a first voice datafrom a first communication terminal held by a target person after aguidance is presented to the first communication terminal; detecting adifference regarding a physical condition of the target person based onfirst voice data and a basis, the bases being created from second voicedata of the target person; and sending a notification to a secondcommunication terminal depending on detecting the difference regardingthe physical condition of the target person.